Business Sustainability – Business gets on board!
Source: Ballarat Courier Supplement (Ballarat Prospectus 2009) Wednesday 18 February 2009
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Ballarat businesses are increasingly accessing ways to make their business more sustainable and cost efficient. Ballarat City Council and its partners are providing the leadership, knowledge and tools to help industry make the changes they need to save money and the planet... SmartGreen is an entrepreneurial training and mentoring program specifically designed to match the needs of business in the Ballarat region. The innovative program looks at ways to deliver business cost savings through creating new revenue streams, enhancing business skills, increasing entrepreneurial capacity and providing networks of potential business partners. Developed and run by the University of Ballarat, the participation cost to business is heavily subsidised by AusIndustry and the City of Ballarat. This enabled professional assistance normally only affordable to large businesses, to be accessed by local small and medium businesses. Businesses have already used skills honed in the program to introduce changes to their business practices and products. Recent graduate John Schreenen of King Print has introduced a green pack dedicated to the promotion of approved recycled paper stocks and King Print’s new factory has been built with the environment in mind. |
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We’re implementing all possible initiatives available to us to reduce our carbon footprint and assist our clients to make informed decisions about how they can take a corporate environmental stance with their print, said Mr Schreenen.
Haymes Paint has recently implemented a sustainability strategy. Haymes Paint Technical and Development Manager Liz Salter, said they have implemented paper recycling in office areas and recycling in manufacturing areas.
By re-using some water back in production we are reducing the impact of our vehicle fleet with more fuel-efficient vehicles. We have bench-marked what we are currently spending and clearly see opportunity for improvement and significant gains.
Belinda Fyffe of Unlock Success rectified hidden business costs that were environmentally damaging. By linking to other green businesses in the local community I’ve learnt how to minimise business waste and how low offset emissions costs are for my business, all of which impact my bottom line.
The program will run again in 2009 and will be delivered on-line in order to expand the participation and provide access to the course all year round and 24 hour a day.
For more information about the program visit
www.MySmartGreen.com or contact cric@ballarat.edu.au or 5327 9318.
